Squidfry 08-18-22: Play Nice

PLAY NICE… All Squid really needed to know Squid learned in squidlet-garten, and it has served Squid well in getting along with other sea creatures, as long as they are not hungry. Squid heard some humans are not getting along at Monterey Peninsula College – interactions between board member Debbie Anthony and an unnamed employee resulted in a $20,000 investigation by an independent law firm.

The employee filed a complaint Jan. 7, alleging that Anthony, a retired MPC counselor, engaged in verbal abuse and harassment, among other negative behaviors. The investigator concluded Anthony’s behavior either was not directed at the employee or did not occur. (In one instance, the investigator concluded that Anthony was rude to then-Superintendent David Martin, but not the employee.) The employee filed a second complaint in March accusing Anthony of retaliation over the first complaint, which the investigator found evidence to support.

Anthony tells Squid’s colleague that she “never had a negative conversation with [the employee],” and blames Martin for starting a chain of events that led to misunderstandings. A subcommittee of the MPC Board of Trustees recommended that trustees play by board rules when it comes to conducting business. On Aug. 10 the board voted 5-0, including Anthony, to accept that recommendation. The board was scheduled to hear a report on a complaint by a second employee, but Anthony asked that it be postponed, citing stress; the board agreed.

SAT WORDS… Squid oozed over to another meeting on Aug. 10 for the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, whose board heard appeals by Sand City and Greenfield over their Regional Housing Number Allocations, the number of housing units they must plan for between 2023-2031, as mandated by the state. Sand City officials contended the number assigned to them, 260, was too high (appeal denied). Greenfield argued they did so well in the last go-round that their number (730) was an unfair strain on city services.

Squid could tell Greenfield didn’t have a leg to stand on, but that didn’t stop Community Development Director Paul Mugan from throwing every argument and the kitchen sink at the AMBAG board. Squid thought maybe a thesaurus exploded on Mugan’s computer, as he used every fancy word he could think of.

Squid did some research and found there is an adjective for someone who uses too many complicated words when simple words will do: sesquipedalian.

After over 45 minutes of speaking, Mugan ended the word barrage. Staff was breviloquent (brief) in their response: 1) the appeal didn’t meet criteria; 2) Greenfield’s beef is with the state, not AMBAG. The appeal failed. In other words, Mugan’s arguments were unpropitious (not likely to produce a good result).